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Qurrah Tun
Qurrah is one of the Tun brothers as well as a former member of the Eschaton and former apprentice to Velixar, Voice of the Lion. He appears in all seven Half-Orcs books and is characterized by an affinity for dark magic and cynical, hopeless outlook on life. He dies at the hand of his former master Velixar with the unwilling help of his lover, Tessanna Delone, only to be reanimated by the high priest of Karak and used to help in his assault on Avlimar, home of the Angels. He is eventually returned to life and lives on a farm in Ker until he is called to action again by Azariah, high priest of the Angels. Early Life Qurrah was born as a result of a union between an orc woman, known in the story only as Mama Tun, and the elven nobleman Ahrqur Tun'dell, from whom his name was derived. He was raised until the age of five by his mother before being sold into slavery to a necromancer identified in the story as Master, who lived near to or within the Vile Wedge. From Master he learned the black arts of necromancy, but when the man caught him practicing the words of a spell he shoved a hot poker down the half-orc boy's throat in order to stop him from ever using magic again. However, this did not stop him, and after a brutal assault on Master's tower by disgruntled hyena-men Qurrah killed him while he was resting and fled. From there he went to Veldaren, where he was reunited with his brother Harruq and lived as the poorest of the poor in the slums of the city. In the Books The Weight of Blood Qurrah is first seen during an orcish attack on Veldaren in which he wrests control of several hundred flaming skulls from Velixar, his future master, thus stumbling accidentally upon the principle of limitless energy. After the assault, Qurrah and Harruq return to their normal lives in Veldaren, but are forced out after King Edwin Vaelor I exiles all elves from Neldaren lands. During this event, Harruq and Qurrah also learn that they are not hybrids of humans and orcs, but rather elves and orcs, thus granting them abilities different from any other race. From Veldaren they travel to Woodhaven, the home of their now-dead mother, a town where elves and men live in harmony. The Tun brothers set up household in the slums, taking a shack and turning into a place of shadow and horror thanks to Qurrah's dark magic. Here, Qurrah pressures Harruq into taking the freshly dead corpses of children for his experiments, thus earning his brother the moniker of Forest Butcher from the people of Woodhaven. In Woodhaven Qurrah meets Velixar, who uses him and his brother in order to set into motion a battle between the Neldaren army and the elven militia of Celed, the elven half of Woodhaven. The clash is a bloodbath, and Qurrah only escapes with the help of Harruq's love interest, the elven sorceress Aurelia. After the battle, the three resolve to return to Veldaren despite the ban on elves.